A Valië in Konohagakure
by Reichbane
Summary: When Nessa complained to Tulkas about life in Valinor being a little too easy, the last thing she expected was for Eru to take that as a challenge. Now, she finds herself enshrouded in the body of a human, and unable to change her shape as she once could. There's a strange new energy inside of her, and she has parents! She may not have expected it, but she won't back down now.
1. Prologue: An Unexpected Journey

She wasn't sure what she expected when Eru the Father of All began his newest theme; "Think of it as a new adventure, a way to stretch and grow from your corner of the forest on Valinor," He'd said–though not in such human words. _I do love adventure_, she thought, _though I'll miss Tulkas and his boisterous way of life… _

Nessa was at once confused and tentatively excited to find herself suddenly incarnate, robed in the body of a newborn babe, thrust suddenly into a bright new world. A nurse rushed around, a worried man clutched the hand of a pale woman behind her, a doctor held her gently and announced her gender to the room. Nessa found herself lost in thought, comparing what she once was to what she had become. To go from one of the Powers in the West to a baby swaddled in cloth was strange to her at least.

Nessa often found herself surprised at how messy humans were as she grew. During her first year, she discovered that diapers were her least favorite thing (though baths were a close second), the attention of her parents made her feel warm inside, and that humans were ungainly creatures. _How ever_ _did Elendil stand against Sauron?_ she wondered as she dropped to her rear end, once again failing to walk. Her thoughts were an eager whirlwind of what once was and what could be. _I want to _run, _I want to feel the wind in my hair, the ground rushing beneath my feet, to be Nessa the Swift once more, but this time as a human!_

As the days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, Nessa grew closer to her new family and celebrated her first birthday on the third of April. As time passed, she would learn and be delighted that her clan raised deer, and her father oft took her for walks in the forest to meet them, and slowly her footing grew surer. She admired the peace and beauty of the trees in the dying light, and the contemplative silence of her father, the strong yet easy grip of his hand in hers. _This world is lovely, the trees are so green, so unlike Laurelin or Telperion, but lovely all the same. _In her quiet contemplation, she almost missed the resonance within her. Her father glanced her way, a strange look on his face, but she hardly noticed.

It seemed that within her a universe churned, much like her previous nature, she felt a great energy flowing through her body, like she could do anything. Almost as a reflex, she circulated the energy faster within her, excitement flowed as she felt strength fly through her limbs like a gale. With a glance towards her father, she fought a grin that threatened to arise on her face. His eyebrow rose in confusion and she yelled "Let's go!" before taking off in what could generously be called a sprint.

"Wait, Nessa!" her father yelled in exasperation. "You can't just run off!"

She turned and looked at him, a grin finally overtaking her face before replying "Come on, daddy!" Despite her childlike eyes and small stature, she felt swift, but her father quickly caught up and lifted her into the air with laughter on his lips and a smile that warmed her heart.

Her father set her down and knelt down to her eye level "Ness, dear, when did you learn to manipulate your chakra?" His voice was soft and calm but betrayed an inkling of the curiosity he felt inside.

Nessa felt the energy in her limbs return to normal as she looked into her father's eyes, "What does that mean?" she asked. _This strange new energy inside me, it feels like dancing and a strong tailwind, is this chakra?_ Her gaze turned thoughtful as her father spoke.

"Well," he started, "chakra manipulation, or chakra control, is how we describe our usage and efficiency with the energy inside of us. It's our life force, a combination of-" he cut himself off, deciding that her mother would probably be better suited to explain, she always did possess the finer understanding of chakra control.

"A combination of what, papa?" her eyes shone brightly, as she was always keen to learn new things, particularly when such things were so relevant.

Her father stood and stretched before he spoke, "Well let's take you to mama, she'll be able to explain better than I can." he took her hand and began walking home, though he could feel her burning curiosity and slight impatience at their leisurely pace.

When they arrived home, he called out "Mitsu! Nessa has a surprise for you!" he glanced at Nessa and saw that she was deep in thought, but he poked her shoulder and nodded towards the kitchen, where her mother was preparing lunch.

"Mama look what I can do!" Nessa gleefully said before circulating the energy–_chakra,_ she thought–within her and then leaped up as high as she could, which caused her mother to release a surprised yelp.

Mitsu caught her before she hit the ground and gave an exasperated smile to Nessa's father "Yuuma, what are we going to do with this girl?" Mitsu walked into the living room with her under her arm and sat down on one of the larger zabuton, shifting Nessa onto her lap. "Barely two, and learning to use chakra, you're very young you know," she said softly. Mitsu worried that, like most children of shinobi, Nessa would have her childhood stolen from her by joining the academy young as a prodigy, like that poor Hatake boy near the end of the last war.

"Mama, will you teach me? I want to be fast!" Nessa said excitedly.

Her mother held back a grimace, schooling her face into a gentle smile and said "We can start slow, some easy exercises. And maybe we can start running as a family. Doesn't that sound fun, dear?" the last part she spoke louder so Yuuma could hear from the kitchen.

Yuuma walked out into the living room with several cups of tea and a sigh on his lips, "I do prefer walking, but… Well, anything for my little girl." He said, with a small smile.

As the family drank their tea and relaxed a malevolent energy seemed to permeate the air with a suddenness that made Nessa choke, she would have cried if she'd had the instincts, but instead, all she could do was look to her mother, as her heart raced. Her parents stared at one another wide-eyed, when Mitsu shook her head and handed Nessa off to Yuuma, "Take her to the bunker, I'll go find out what's going on."

"I'll come for you as soon as I can." He touched her cheek softly, then started to run out of the door before turning back, "Stay safe."

Mitsu laughed, and replied, "There's nothing in this world that can stop me from coming back to my family." They ran outside and split off, Yuuma to protect his daughter, and Mitsu to do the same.

Yuuma arrived with Nessa to the bunker beneath Hokage Rock and took her inside to where the other children were. As he handed her to one of the caretakers her heart raced ever faster, and she wanted to beg him not to go, to stay where it was safe, but she knew he'd never leave mama to fight alone, not if he could help it. _Eru please, you've given me this fascinating new life, don't take these people away from me so soon, _she hoped Eru would listen, that his new plan for her included both parents. Yuuma placed his hand on her cheek and smiled before he turned and ran to where the demon fox was wrought havoc in the village.

Life inside the village would never be the same, she knew, but she held hope that it wouldn't be because she was alone.


	2. Ch1: Strange Company

Two Years Later

Nessa sprawled on her bed and stared at the roof, tired after another long day exploring and expanding the limits of her now-familiar body. Her mid-length, wavy hair flared around her head like a golden halo, a stark contrast to the usual black or dark brown hair of her clan.

She considered her life up to now; she used to wonder if Eru would be proud of her, or if she was doing the right things, but after much introspection she decided Eru had given her this opportunity to learn and grow as a mortal, _and I'll be mighty, like the great Mallorn trees or Taniquetil in Aman_.

Her reverie was broken by a voice from elsewhere in the house, "Nessa! Dinner is ready when you're hungry." A smile teased across her face at the joking tone her mother took, she was always hungry. She got up and dashed into the dining room, pleased to find there was more food than usual.

"_Konnichiwa_ papa, mama." Nessa said before she knelt on a zabuton, and reached for the whatever food was closest. _Some_ tsukemono _with rice and, _ohhh_ egg rolls!_

Mitsu sighed in exasperation but reached for some food as well. "_Konnichiwa_, Nessa, you're not the least bit curious why we prepared so much food?" her mother asked, and looked meaningfully into Nessa's silver eyes. When she saw that Nessa was too busy eating to reply she continued, "Well, we heard from a certain sensei of yours that you have been doing very well in your first year of the academy..." Mitsu leveled an expectant look at her daughter.

Nessa paused, chopsticks almost to her lips and beamed at her mother, "Mhmm!" She swallowed quickly and took a short drink of tea before continuing, "The first year is just the easy stuff, though. We learned the 'Shinobi Rules,' basic math and geography, and stretching. I have already figured it out, though." Nessa took another bite of her tsukemono, doing her best to fit as much in her mouth as she could.

A long moment passed before Mitsu loudly cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow at Yuuma, who seemed to be paying a little more attention to the food than the conversation "Ah, yes. It's been a month. For a kunoichi, it's not uncommon to breeze through the early material. But to show such an instinctual grasp of the whole first-year curriculum..."

_It's not so unusual, she thought, Finrod learned the language of Men in _a matter of weeks_, and he was merely an Elf._ He looked towards Mitsu who nodded at him "Even though it's not currently wartime, special dispensation is given to the more prodigious students-"

"It's too early to tell for sure, mind, there's no pressure." Mitsu interrupted.

Nessa frowned at the implication, but her father continued before she could speak up in her defense. "Iruka-sensei has decided it would be prudent to allow us to continue your more mundane studies on weekends. He also recommended you be moved up to the next academy year. Your mother and I have given it a lot of thought, and believe your skill in chakra control will allow you to keep up with the year two students. Ultimately, though, we want to leave it up to you." Yuuma finished speaking and gave Nessa a significant look before his focus shifted back to the food.

"Now there's no rush—" Mitsu started.

"I can do it," Nessa said quickly, as determination shone from her eyes. "I want to be…" she paused, almost unsure how to put her innermost desire into words. "I want to be mighty. I want to protect the weak, and maybe one day I can protect you, too." Her mind drifted back to the day her desire to explore and grow became a determination to reach and surpass any limits within herself.

* * *

The_ sound of children crying filled the air, loud, but unable to compete with the noxious and malevolent chakra that suffused the whole of Konohagakure. Nessa tried to tune out the voices all around her, but she could feel the desperation in the air as well._

_"I need an _Iryō-nin_ over here, quickly!" a voice shouted._

_"Get in line! Everyone needs help right now!" came the _harried_ reply._

_"Tenzin, stay put! Your parents will be fine, they're Shinobi of Konoha." another voice added to the bedlam_

_More shouting and the occasional scream of pain provided ambiance. Nessa wondered why the children were in the same area as the wounded, unsure how much of the village must be left if this was the only safe place. Her thoughts began to drift, and she wondered if Melkor had followed her to this new life of hers. Then just as suddenly as it began, it ended. The sudden lack of such horrible maleficence may as well have been an infusion of serotonin into her system and relief filled her._

_The crying died down, and soon all that could be heard was the _Iryō-nin_ and the groaning of pain from the occasional wounded Shinobi or civilian. Nessa's thoughts were fixed on her parents, and she wondered if they were okay. She considered running out when the door was opened _next,_ but decided if her parents had made it they would come for her where they left her._

_The next several hours were filled with anxiety. Though many of the children had fallen into a fitful sleep, Nessa leaned against the wall opposite the door and kept watch for her parents. Each time the door opened, her heart would begin to race, only to be disappointed that her parents hadn't arrived. _I don't know how much of this I can take, _she thought_, I had hoped the only evil here would be people, but… If Melkor's evil has spread this far, I'll have to contend with it.

_She knew she would never sit idly by and allow evil to grow, not after what happened in Middle Earth. She and the other Valar had tarried in the beginning, had sat idly by in grief after the destruction of the Two Trees. Not again. She would grow mighty and great, and if Melkor would corrupt this world he would find it more difficult than he could imagine._

_Suddenly the door opened again and Nessa sprang up, there in the doorway were her parents. She immediately ran towards _them,_ but skidded to halt when she saw that her father's silhouette was missing a leg. Tears welled up in her eyes and her mother knelt in front of her, hands falling roughly onto Nessa's shoulders._

_"Your father will be alright." Nessa wasn't so sure, he looked unsteady on his _fe_-... foot. "He saved my life. Your papa's a hero." Mitsu wrapped her up in a hug, while Yuuma lowered himself to his knee with a hand on his wife's shoulder._

_"Konoha is saved, tonight, we are all heroes." His voice sounded dull, but he joined in the hug and Nessa clung fiercely to her parents, her earlier oath ringing in her head. _Never again_, she thought_.

* * *

She was broken from her drifting thoughts by her mother folding her into a hug. "I hope you'll never have to." Mitsu said solemnly, "It's our job as your parents to keep you safe. You're still so young—"

Nessa interrupted again "I will be stronger!" She said fiercely. Her thoughts swirled, and she wasn't able to clearly articulate her desire to be a protector. _A_ _human body comes with such heady emotions._

"Ness…" Yumma started, with a glance to his wife, "Even considering the Kyuubi attack, there hasn't been any conflict in the village for over two years. And... I may be down a leg, but I will never let that stop me from keeping you safe."

A look of annoyance stole across Nessa's face as she was reminded of Oromë's fierce protectiveness, how he would march into Middle Earth alone to hunt the monsters Melkor let loose upon the children of Eru, how he wouldn't let her come. Oromë was legendary for his fury and his desire to keep his sister safe. This was her chance, though. She would do for others what her brother did for her and for Middle Earth. "I will not go too fast. I will pace myself, I promise."

Nessa was moved up to the next class level, but it was quickly discovered that her ability to absorb information and learn new taijutsu techniques was unparalleled. It was not until teamwork exercises were introduced that she ran into trouble.

"It's not that you did poorly," Iruka began, "But that despite your impressive skill, you didn't adjust your strategy to include your team. You powered through the exercise as if you were alone, and that defeats the purpose, do you understand?" Iruka tried to be patient, but prodigies were always difficult to deal with. They went off on their own to handle problems that, maybe they could solve alone, but were almost always more efficient with a team.

The problem presented by children like Nessa was their intuitive grasp of things that most children would take time to learn and absorb. This problem was most starkly demonstrated with shinobi like Itachi or Kakashi, whom Nessa closely resembled in skill. A more suitable exercise to their skill level could be devised, but then they would have to be paired with older students. Iruka strongly considered having another chat with the Nara clan leader about Nessa's progress. Perhaps she would graduate in one year like Itachi.

Nessa interrupted Iruka's introspection with a huff, "If I limit myself, and my team fails the assignment, that is just as bad, is it not?" She said, "It is better if I complete the assignment and keep my team safe than if I were to be limited and let them potentially get hurt!" Her temporary team rolled their eyes at the weird girl's passion. It was just an academy assignment, not an S-rank mission.

Iruka paused to consider the words of his charge, briefly wishing she had been in Itachi's year and replied "Konoha doesn't assign solo missions for ninja under Jounin, usually. When you graduate from the academy, you will be paired with two other Genin and assigned missions in escalating difficulty. If you aren't able to work properly with your teammates, your whole squad will suffer. You don't need to limit yourself, but you do need to find a way to include whoever you're paired with in the planning process."

With those words, the class was dismissed and Nessa found she couldn't dispute what Iruka-sensei had said. As a Valië she rarely depended on the wisdom of others, and only once in the hundreds of thousands of years of her prior existence was she on a team, and that was in dealing with the most powerful of Eru's Ainur. She realized that she was still thinking in terms of being a Valië, and while she still possessed that same awareness, she was limited by her human body. _To think, one of the Valar being so foolish. Manwë and Varda would be shocked._

Nessa walked home, thinking of ways she could act to augment whatever team she was on. Her thoughts wandered to the Siege of Utumno, the only real combat she had been involved in. She and Oromë had made a devastating team, his arrows struck like lightning and his spear like a falling mountain, Nessa had acted as a foil for the enemy, then. She had always been swift, so much that even Manwë and Varda could not always keep her in their sight.

When Melkor sent forth his evils, she would tary them, grouping them for the arrows or spear of Oromë, and the mighty sweeps of Tulkas' arms, ensuring more cruel constructs were destroyed together than they would have managed separately. Though she excelled in support, it was an easier role to assume under the command of Manwë and next to the might of the other Valar. In this world, she would have to be more creative.

When she arrived home, it was to her mother and father around the tea table with a man she recognized as the Nara clan leader. She paused after removing her sandals, then moved out of the genkan into the tea room. "_Konichiwa_ Nara-sama," she said, then looked towards her mother, unsure of the situation.

"Come and sit Nessa, this is about you, after all," Mitsu said gently.

Nara Shikaku had yet to speak, so Nessa poured herself some tea and kneeled on the cushion conspicuously left open between her parents. She was not nervous–she had not done anything wrong–but she was curious, and didn't shy away from looking at the face of her clan leader while he drank his tea.

"Nessa, is it?" his gruff voice inquired. His brown eyes met her silver.

She had never heard his voice, but he sounded somehow both caring and rough. Like that Maia that Nienna had taken a shine to, _Olórin, I think, I wonder how he's doing?_ Before her mind wandered too far she gave a quick affirmative and idly sipped at her own tea.

"I've heard from Iruku that you are excelling in class. That you could graduate in a year. And your parents say you have surprising chakra control." He paused to drink his tea and looked at Nessa, almost expectantly, though he never lost the air of being laid back.

Nessa considered her words before speaking, "If what I have heard about the rest of the academy is true, I do not think I will find a challenge in it. My only struggle is in retrieval or capture exercises with a team, but I believe I may overcome that in the right group." Her reply was a little blunt, perhaps, but Nessa did not have the mind for guile, it was not her nature. She did catch a slight grimace on her father's face, though.

If Nessa thought her clan leader showing up was strange, the next thing he said really surprised her. "In this clan, we put a strong emphasis on personal responsibility and discovery. That you have pushed yourself, despite the usual Nara attitude of... being laid back, is commendable. If you are able to skip the next academy year as well, and shore up your team play, I would like to dedicate a Nara Jounin to train you in our clan technique once a week." He said.

The fire of curiosity inside of her that had dimmed in the wake of the Kyuubi attack was stirred, and with excitement shining across her face, Nessa answered "What kind of technique? Does it require strong chakra control? Can I-"

"Nessa, slowly, we understand you're excited." Her father admonished lightly, as her mother hid a laugh behind her cup of tea.

"Of course," she said to her father, then turned to Nara Shikaku, "I would be honored." She spoke as evenly as she could, but human emotions were so much wilder than she had dealt with as a Valië, sometimes they were like coastal waters directed by Ossë. _Like a tempest in spring_.

Shikaku showed a brief smile before he set his now-empty cup down and stood. "Well, I expect you will continue to put forth your greatest effort. Make the Nara proud." Nessa and her family stood and bowed as he left.

Mitsu chuckled then sighed before she turned her gaze towards Nessa, who had sat back down to finish her tea, "Well. I suppose it won't be our choice after all how quickly you go through the academy." Her mother seemed wistful–like she had lost something and was not sure how to get it back.

"It's good that children of Shinobi mature at such a greater rate than civilian children," Yuuma said to Mitsu as he stood behind Nessa, "Or little Nessa would be out of her league very quickly." He ruffled her hair, the playful glare she sent his way was made less effective by her disheveled hair.

Nessa finished off her tea and leaned back against her father's legs as he and her mother continued their conversation. She reflected on her short life until now, a year in Valinor was almost 10 solar years, so she still felt as if she'd barely begun here. There was so much to see and do and see. What she'd been learning in the academy made her feel like a young Ainur again, like she had not yet chosen the nature of her powers, and the whole world was open to her.

Of course, she had chosen the forest and the wind in her hair before, she felt sure she would be specializing in something that utilized her penchant for being swift and her love of nature. Perhaps a sword, or a bow. _Aulë had crafted me a beautiful arming sword and dagger, but I have not seen a combat style to utilize that here_. Nessa paused her introspection when she realized her mother was looking at her expectantly, "What?" she asked.

"I asked if you were ready for bed, or at least to wind down with a book. Tomorrow is Saturday, and we have to cover your lessons early if we want to finish in time to get the training ground by the Naka river." Her mother said, before she scooped her up and carried her to her room.

Nessa sighed before she replied " Okay~." before she was dropped unceremoniously on her bed. She said goodnight to her mother before reaching for one of the books she kept by her bed, this one on chakra control exercises. If she was to try walking on a tree tomorrow she would need to make sure she knew the idea well. It was not long before she fell asleep, though, with the book resting on her chest.

The new day had barely even begun to rise before Nessa was woken, given a hearty breakfast, and subjected to the evils of general education at the hands of her parents. After two hours of demonstrating that she was still keeping up with the maths and language requirements, she was given leave to get dressed for training.

She dressed quickly, if they did not get the field by the Naka they would have to use the field behind the Inuzuka compound, and she would be distracted all day by the adorable puppies. When she met her mother by the door, they took off together through the alleys and streets that would get them to the right field.

They were not the first ones there, but the genin using the field were packing up when they arrived, so they managed to reserve it for the next four hours at least. Though no less grueling than the previous Saturday, her mother did begin teaching her to walk up trees. The concept was so foreign to her, when she heard her mother say it all she could say in return was "Huh?"

Mitsu chuckled and explained it further, "You already have great chakra control. You did the leaf sticking exercise in the first day of trying, this is just a more precise application of that. Rather than make your chakra stick to you, you're going to stick your chakra to the tree, then walk up."

She could sense Nessa's desire to know the finer details so she continued, "Collect a thin layer of chakra at the bottom of your feet, this chakra sticks to the tree and holds up your body weight. It isn't expended, or else you'll push off of the tree, it's held steady and with intent. With practice, it becomes second nature to regulate both the amount of chakra and how 'sticky' it is, for lack of a better word. It's like walking." She demonstrated by walking up the nearest tree to a branch about thirty feet up.

Nessa looked up with amazement, _I get it, like how I had to modulate my energy as a Valië while I sang to create. Too much was chaotic noise, too little was simply ineffective_. I think I understand. "Can I try next‽" She shouted excitedly.

Mitsu jumped down, landed softly, and nodded to Nessa. "But be very careful, and take it slow. I'll be here to catch you if you need help."

Nessa moved to the base of the tree and closed her eyes, visualizing the flow of chakra within her. When she was satisfied she had the optimal amount of chakra collected at her feet she took a large step up to the tree, her foot sticking to about her hip height–only about a foot and a half–and looked back to her mother excitedly when her foot seemed to stick. "This is so easy!"

Her mother had a hand in front of her mouth hiding a smirk, but she nodded in encouragement as Nessa moved her bottom foot up, now with both feet on the tree, she tried to take another step "–oof!" and promptly fell the small distance to the ground. Mitsu made sure she was okay before she laughed.

"Remember I mentioned regulation, that means you have to make sure you don't stick too hard and then push yourself off when you try to release. It should be natural, like walking." Mitsu said, knowing the rest of the day would be more of the same. However, once Nessa learned to regulate her chakra well enough to tree walk with ease, using jutsu efficiently would be a breeze.

During the following hours Nessa showed marked improvement; with Mitsu there to provide guidance, and Nessa's keen ability to know her chakra, she managed to walk almost to where her mother had been before falling, her own excitement getting in her way. Unfortunately, someone had reserved the field for the next hour, so her mother decided they could get some hearty lunch while they waited for the field to open back up.

As they walked to the ramen stand on the main street, Mitsu regaled Nessa with some of the more innocent stories of being a ninja. Her mother explained about the clan jutsu, and how she used it to become a capture specialist. "The shadow jutsu is complicated, you can't maintain it for long unless your reserves are superb, but in conjunction with a teammate even thirty seconds is enough to capture almost any target."

Nessa was fascinated by the idea that a shadow could be used to manipulate a person, it was so unique and useful. _Varda would have excelled at that kind of _jutsu_, her way with light and shadow was greater than any in all of Eä_. Inspired by the thought, she voiced a related thought to her mother, "How easy is it to create an artificial light source to make a shadow longer?" She had really only seen lanterns or basic lamps, nothing that would be useful in a fight.

Her mother considered the question, "That's a really good question, you're thinking like a Nara, now!" Her mother's praise made her smile, and Mitsu continued, "To answer, we don't have very many ways of creating powerful but mobile sources of light. You could use an explosive tag, but that could be dangerous given the timer."

As Nessa thought that over, Mitsu paid for their food and they began walking to the Naka river, to check on the status of the training ground. "So if I want to catch someone, I could bait them into a taijutsu battle and capture them like that?" Nessa asked.

Mitsu smiled, the thought reminding her of when she first began devising strategies for effective capture. "Not quite. Remember that in the ninja world you can never be very sure of the power level of your opponent, some are notorious enough to have bounties that detail their abilities, but for the most part, you will be going in blind. You never want to assume you're the more skilled ninja." She explained.

"In fact, the best way I've found to capture someone with my shadow is a simple shunshin. It's not chakra intensive, but it's very fast. If you show enough aptitude with learning the clan technique I'll show you my little secret to never missing a binding." Mitsu whispered conspiratorially.

The training field was in view, and it appeared to be empty, so while Mitsu went to reserve it for another four hours, Nessa began stretching. She was halfway through her routine before her mother came back. "Alright, we can't stay over our time, as someone has reserved it for 1700, but we can still try to make as much progress in that time as possible," Mitsu said.

"I want you to make a few attempts at walking on the surface of the water. We aren't going to spend much time on this today, as it's rather advanced, but I want you to get a feeling for the progression of chakra control and where it leads." While she was talking Mitsu had walked out onto the water of the river, when she finished, she did a back handspring, to further demonstrate the possibilities.

Nessa walked forward to the edge of the water and considered what she would have to do to make such a thing work. As a Valië it would be simple, what she willed would be with regard to her body, she could fly if she wanted. _So if I want to walk on a tree, I just stick to it, but with water, there's nothing to stick to… Do I have to push myself up with chakra? I suppose I may as well just try it._

Her first step onto the water sent her sprawling backward, too much pressure, then. Her next try was more stable, and she held it to get the feel of how much chakra to expel. Her third and fourth steps found her standing on the water, though she didn't look steady. On her fifth step, she found out how the complexity of water walking compounds when there is not ground six inches down and fell on her face into the water as a result.

Mitsu began laughing in earnest after holding it in but still rushed to help Nessa up. "The difficult part of this is in adjusting the flow of chakra at your feet, you have to be able to do this on the fly, in any circumstance, from any part of your body to be considered a master at this kind of exercise." She explained while drying Nessa off.

Nessa sighed but filed that information away for the future. "Let's do the trees again, I think I can get that down today, at least." She said confidently. Mitsu raised an eyebrow at her but nodded and they moved over to the trees again.

Despite her confidence, Nessa was not quite a master at the end of the four hours, while she did manage to move up to the mark her mother had carved into the tree, the distraction of moving around branches and holding against the wind was too much, and molding her chakra at her feet was not second nature yet.

After maneuvering around the branches to the clear area, Nessa slowly walked down the tree, _that is the best way to climb trees, oh Yavanna would enjoy this_. Mitsu ruffled her hair when she was back on solid ground and took her hand for the walk home, "We can work on meditation when we get home. It's just as important to know your mind as it is to know your body."

When they arrived home, Mitsu went to update her husband on Nessa's progress as the girl in question kneeled in _kiza_ in the room they had prepared for meditation. She cleared her mind and focused on the chakra within her, noting how it flowed through her like wind through a long tunnel. She did not notice when her mother sat across from her, but the smell of incense that permeated the room made her smile slightly.

If this could have been her life, without potential threats like the Kyuubi or who knew what else facing her and her family, she would have been content to have such an easy existence. _Being of the Valar was easy enough, though. I'm ready for a challenge_. She stood up and walked to the kitchen to get a drink of water before heading to bed. She looked forward to Monday when she would work on teamwork exercises with renewed vigor.


	3. Ch2: Unrestrained

**Four Years Later**

"Look out!" a voice called, but Nessa was already moving out of the way, had already moved. She had flipped forward over the thrown fūma shuriken and returned fire with her own kunai in the space of a heartbeat. Her enemy was still hidden, and she didn't have a sensor on her squad, but judging from where the shuriken came from she had a rough approximation of where her enemy was.

She called out for her squad to move in that direction when two ninja suddenly appeared in front of them in a _shunshin_. They wore the brown jackets with red outfits usually associated with Iwa ninja, they also had nondescript white masks covering their faces. Itsuki looked towards Nessa for a directive, but in his distraction, the larger Iwa ninja on the right leaped towards him with a mallet made of stone.

"Kaito-san, go check the merchants!" Nessa shouted while she moved to deflect the heavy mallet with her tantō. The other Iwa ninja hadn't been idle though, and a hail of stone launched towards Nessa and Itsuki as the larger ninja disappeared in a spray of sand. Nessa grabbed Itsuki and with a quick _shunshin_ dodged the stones, _that was close, Itsuki needs to pay more attention, _she thought with annoyance.

Itsuki was fairly slow for a ninja, but far bulkier. With a teammate like Nessa, it would be easy to feel like a burden, but she always made an effort to plan around multiplying the effectiveness of her squad. "Now!" he heard her shout, as she caught one of the ninja in the beginning of their most successful takedown technique. He rushed the enemy ninja that had been halted by Nessa's shadow possession jutsu and punched him hard in the chest, aiming to crush his ribs and knock him out.

Just before Itsuki struck, Nessa dropped the shadow possession and was suddenly replaced by a log, which was then crushed by a boulder thrown by the smaller ninja's jutsu, the man now radiating killing intent. He growled in frustration as his partner was flung into a tree by the force of Itsuki's blow, and Itsuki jumped backward to get out of easy swinging range of the angry ninja.

Nessa had appeared next to the downed Iwa ninja and quickly wrapped him in heavy _manriki_-_kusari_ chains when she had to _kawarimi_ again to dodge another hail of rocks launched at her. She ended up next to Itsuki and spoke to the Iwa ninja, "What is it you want?"

"Do we need a reason to hunt lowly Konoha ninja?," He answered in a gravely tone with an angry sneer, "your village is scum, and you ninja ar–" Nessa performed a quick _shunshin_ to stab him through the shoulder with her tantō, dislocating his arm in the process. He growled in surprised pain, but Nessa held him in her shadow possession so he couldn't escape.

"Itsuki, go check on Kaito, he should have reported back by now." It hadn't been more than a thirty second engagement, but that should have been enough time to send a signal that all was well. She looked back towards the enemy ninja and tilted her head at him in thought, _I do not want to kill him, but we cannot very well leave them here to report on our mission…_ "Now what to do with you?"

The other ninja couldn't speak through the pain and was clearly no longer a threat, so Nessa dropped the possession and wiped her blade on her thigh to clean it as he collapsed to sit on the ground clutching his shoulder. She walked to collect the other ninja, dragging his bulk as best as she could to be next to his partner. She ensured his chains were tight before chaining up the other ninja as well, his protests of pain making her grimace.

Itsuki and Kaito returned not two minutes later carrying a third Iwa ninja. Kaito looked haggard and was bleeding from cuts all over, but nothing looked immediately life-threatening. "Report?" Nessa asked, wishing they had taken the mission for spying instead. But her team had been excited at the prospect of being so close to the Land of Earth, and the heightened chance of a fight, _well they got their fight,_ Nessa thought.

"Um, I went to the merchants and they, um, were about to be attacked! So I, I defended them as best I could, but I'm not as good as you, Nessa-san, so I wasn't winning, but, um, Itsuki came just in time and with his help we were able to capture the last member!" Kaito finished excitedly. The third member of the Iwa squad lay unconscious over Itsuki's shoulder.

"Excellent work, team! Now, our only option is to keep these three as secure as possible and take them with us. I won't have us slay them in cold blood, and we can't let them report back just for us to get ambushed again." _Though keeping them secure might pose an issue… _"Itsuki go round up the merchants and tell them we're ready to move on. Kaito, give me both sets of your _manriki_-_kusari_, we're going to tie them more securely." Nessa said.

The merchants had an empty cart in which Nessa was able to stash the Iwa ninja, as far from one another are possible. And with the ninja out of the way, Nessa cheered considerably. She helped Kaito dress his wounds, ensuring he could continue, then set him as the vanguard and Itsuki as the rearguard. Their trip continued on, the merchants pleased to be unharmed.

With time to think, now, she reflected that the quick skirmish had hardly been any trouble. Her mother had taught her how to _shunshin_ without a seal on her fifth birthday, and with the last five years of practice–including some treasured tips garnered from Shisui before his tragic suicide–she had learned to perform small actions mid-flicker.

Together with Itsuki's uncanny strength, and Kaito's appreciable skill in Genjutsu they made quite the effective team. _It helps that Itsuki reminds me so much of Tulukastâz–Tulkas, I think the elves called him, silly creatures–makes him easy to get along with, he could almost be our child._ The thought of Tulkas brought an ache to her chest.

When her roaming brought her closer to Itsuki he stopped her to speak, "Why don't we kill them?" He asked with trepidation.

Nessa gave him the only answer she could, "You should only kill when there is no other choice. You never know what lies or deceit brought your enemy to face you. Mercy can be as powerful a weapon as any jutsu." She paused to consider, "But if there is ever any doubt that you could be overwhelmed, you do not hesitate." Nessa said and nodded decisively.

Itsuki didn't reply but seemed deep in thought, so Nessa decided to scout ahead. Their mission was simple, but not exactly safe. She had been given command of two other Chūnin to escort a group of merchants to various temples around the Land of Stone to peddle their wares. It was the longest mission she'd ever been on by far, slated to go for two months including travel to and from the Land of Stone.

Her mother hadn't wanted her to go on such a long mission, but her 10-year-old body belied the untold millennia of experience she could bring to bear. And her speed had only grown since she was younger; she had trained her swiftness to such a degree that even her view of the world had changed. In forcing her chakra into more efficient paths, she had sped her perception greatly.

As she had checked ahead, she noted several prime ambush locations, and the Hokage had warned her of the likelihood of bandit raids–though they hadn't seen as much activity as she had expected. She turned back when she had traveled for several minutes, _I suppose there won't be any high-level fights on this mission. But that's probably for the best, Kaito is still a new Chūnin. _She thought.

When she got back to the group, they had come further than she had expected, "Itsuki, are you setting a faster pace? You must go easy on these poor civilians, some are on foot!" She flashed a smile to show she was joking, but she sensed Itsuki was still a little ruffled.

Itsuki sighed "Nessa-chan–" he started, his lips quirked into a brief smile before Nessa interrupted.

"Ahh–" she dramatically placed the back of her hand against her forehead, "kids have no respect these days!" she said with a laugh.

"I'm older than you… Nessa-san." Itsuki defended imperiously.

Nessa only grinned in return before she replied "Yes yes, go take rearguard with Kaito for a while, show him some tricks, maybe. I will take vanguard."

Itsuki rolled his eyes but walked back to where Kaito had been struggling to keep the stragglers in the main group.

A while later they came along to the penultimate temple on their mission. _Almost three weeks of travel around the Land of Stone, and 14 days travel here_, a sigh escaped her lips as the merchants excitedly set up their stalls for the day they would be here, _this mission hardly constitutes the B-rank it was given, it would probably be a C-rank if it wasn't so long._

Nessa and her team wandered around the outside of the temple, keeping a vigilant watch on the surrounding area. Things seemed quiet, as they had been for the entire mission. The Land of Stone was expansive, mostly barren earth and rock, with the occasional tree. The land was ruled by a High Priest–which explained the presence of all the temples–rather than a Daimyo and was generally a peaceful place with only the occasional bandit raid. _It is still too quiet, I expected reprisal from Iwa, we aren't exactly subtle here_.

Even tempting fate as she had, the rest of the day passed smoothly, and the morning found the merchants excitedly selling their wares to the few civilians and many priests and priestesses that stopped by. "I hate to say it, but I'm kind of bored, Itsuki…" Nessa heard Kaito say sullenly. "Three ninja that were barely Chūnin is hardly what I expected on this mission. I kind of thought there would be more bandits."

Nessa giggled from her perch on top of the temple as Itsuki scowled at the brazen way Kaito spoke. "You shouldn't speak so flippantly, we still have time for things to go wrong," Itsuki said roughly. _He is so much more peaceful than Tulkas, he is exactly how I would have raised a son. _She smirked as she thought about how Itsuki would react if he knew how she thought of him. _He'd be so affronted. _

Despite the three Konohagakure Chūnin waiting for something to go wrong, the next temple run went smoothly as well, and it wasn't until halfway back to Konoha that ill fortune struck. The Iwa ninja that Nessa had decided to take back for potential information gains had apparently been leaving some sort of trail because the caravan was suddenly confronted by a group of five Iwagakure shinobi.

"Konoha scum!" The high pitched voice alerted Nessa from her nap, and she left the wagon to find Itsuki and Kaito facing five ninja in non-descript black uniforms.

She walked up slowly behind her team and pushed them behind her, "Kaito start getting the merchants to move away, Itsuki get ready for a fight if they won't be diplomatic," she said softly. Kaito began to back away before the ninja in front of them shouted at him to stop.

"You think we're going to let you get away? No, you captured someone we can't let you keep. This is where you die," the ninja with the shrill voice said. _They must be Iwagakure ninja, then. Five… this could be too much for us. I don't think I'll have time for mercy in this fight,_ Nessa thought with a twinge of regret. She glanced at Itsuki to try to signal at him when suddenly the ground exploded and they had to dodge.

"Stay mobile and attack from afar, lead them away from the merchants if possible, but don't miss an opportunity to pick one off!" Nessa shouted and then a lightning-quick _shunshin_ brought her behind one of the taller ninja, and with a quick jab, she pierced his neck with her tantō. The shrill-voiced ninja took off after her team while the two of the remaining ninja threw walls of earth and stone at her, and a quick _kawarimi _is all that kept her whole.

"Yama!" the third ninja cried and fell to his knees, while Nessa was planning her next move the two other ninja drug him to his feet and scolded him for being distracted.

Nessa grimaced and decided to keep things simple. She tried another _shunshin_ in for a quick kill, but they were ready this time and she barely ducked in time to dodge a kunai aimed at her head, then flipped backward and threw a handful of shuriken to distract them from her hand seals before shouting "Fūton: Great Breakthrough!"

A powerful wind struck the ninja that had cried out earlier, while the other two dodged with _kawarimi_. She noted the one ninja was knocked out or at least pretending to be, when the taller of the two left spoke, "We thought you were new Chūnin, didn't expect scum like you to be such trouble," Nessa whirled around to see him standing too close for comfort and took a step backward when arms wrapped around her. _Shit. This is not good._

"Who did we take that is important enough to send five shinobi?" Nessa asked, trying to distract them, but the arms grabbing her tightened suddenly and she was sure she would have bruised ribs when they got out of this.

The taller ninja scoffed, "Just because I'm going to kill you," he spoke slowly while drawing the blade strapped to his back, "doesn't mean I'll let you have the satisfaction of knowing what you almost had." He dashed forward, intending to decapitate her, but Nessa hadn't been idle and had worked her chakra over the ninja holding her enough to use him as a target for _kawarimi_.

The taller Iwa ninja screamed in frustration as his sword sliced off the arm of his partner. _Unfortunate that I'm so short, or that would have been much better for me_, Nessa thought, _though he probably won't join the rest of the engagement._ She drew her tantō as her enemy stalked toward her, noting her chakra reserves were beginning to wane, and she was breathing heavily.

The ferocity of his first attack shouldn't have surprised her, given his obvious fury, but her block turned into a dodge when realized how easily he could overpower her. _Curse this small body,_ she thought as she dodged another quick strike, her enemy was faster than she expected but slow enough that she felt she could avoid being hit. Though with the constant chakra reinforcement she had to keep on her body during the fight, she would not last much longer.

Nessa's heart sank when she saw the first Iwa ninja limp back onto the road, the ninja looked around at the bodies of her peers on the road and growled angrily at Nessa, then ripped off her mask, chest heaving. _She's pretty, _Nessa thought idly, then shook her head to clear the pointless thought. "I want to look you in the eye when I end your life," the woman said dangerously.

"Where is my team," Nessa asked slowly. "If you've killed them, you will not leave here alive," the words left her mouth like daggers, and the two remaining Iwa hesitated, and glanced at one another, doubt creeping into their expressions.

The woman seemed to marshal her courage and spat "They fled, like the cowards you Konoha ninja are!" A sigh escaped Nessa's lips, _At least they're safe, I might even be able to conserve my chakra enough to take these two out._ "Enough delaying! This is where you die." Nessa kept the worry at bay, but she fought all the harder as she had to dodge waves of shuriken and kunai, blocking what she could with her tantō.

"Ness!" A voice suddenly called from the top of a nearby cliff, _Itsuki! And Kaito! Thank Eru they're safe. _

In her distraction, she was hit by a kunai in the arm, but she drew on what chakra she had left before she made a bird seal and called out "Fūton: AIR BULLETS!" and briefly forced the Iwa ninja to dodge the razor-sharp wind projectiles that raced towards them.

Itsuki and Kaito dashed down the cliff face, and though Itsuki looked to be in bad shape, he split off towards the enemy to keep them busy while Nessa recovered her breath. Kaito stopped next to Nessa and seemed to want to say something before she spoke, "Do what you can to support Itsuki from afar; when I get my breath back I will jump in to assist as well." He nodded but hesitated before he dashed off.

The battle was fierce, the woman displayed skill in Earth jutsu that continued to give Itsuki and Kaito trouble. Nessa took a deep breath and performed a _shunsin_ to bring her next to the woman with a fierce barrage of kenjutsu to keep her from forming seals.

After a brief battle, Kaito had caught the remaining man in a genjutsu, and with a blistering combo of dotonjutsu and kenjutsu, Nessa and Itsuki boxed in and knocked out the woman. Neither had died, so Kaito tied them up with chains while Itsuki sealed the bodies in scrolls.

"Enough action for you, Kai?" Itsuki asked as he stashed the scrolls in the cart with the unconscious Iwa ninja.

"W- what? I only wanted bandits! Five Iwa–you'd think we stole their Daimyo's dog or something." Nessa's eyebrows scrunched together at the idea, _they did imply we had something special in the three we captured already, is it one of them? Something they are carrying?_

"Alright, we have to get moving again, we definitely do not want to have more ninja show up. We are six days out from Konoha, but once we get into the Land of Grass we should be mostly in the clear" Nessa said.

Indeed, six days later they arrived safely at the gates of Konoha around noon. Nessa moved to the ninja manning the gate to get a prisoner transport while the merchants checked in. "Hey there, Joji-san! We've got some captured Iwa ninja as well a few body scrolls. Can you send a hawk for a pickup while we report to the mission desk?"

The three returning ninja showed their IDs, then moved down the main road to mission desk for turn in. They had written their reports that morning, so when they arrived at the desk, they handed in their reports and ran off to get lunch together. Nessa noted how strangely muted the village shinobi seemed. Like something big had happened, but no one wanted to talk about it.

She decided they would find out eventually. Nessa clapped Itsuki and Kaito on the back and sighed happily, "Well done team! We survived what should have been an easy mission that turned into a harder mission," she and Itsuki laughed, but Kaito looked a little ill.

"We could have died," he said softly, with a tremor in his voice.

Nessa and Itsuki paused and looked at him, Nessa gave him a curious look. To her, death had always been a Gift for the Hildor–Eru's favored children–in addition to being free from the bounds of Arda Marred, _even now Morgoth's evil lingers in the land… in the air… to be able to die and be free from this, _a thought occurred to Nessa, then, that maybeshe too shared in this Gift.

She refocused on Kaito, "Hey it's okay, we survived. And even if we hadn't, death is just another path we all take; it's not the end of the journey," she spoke softly but tried to convey her surety. Ilúvitar would never abandon his children, even if the journey was hard, it was never without hope. And it was never _truly_ over, not for Men.

Kaito cheered a bit at that, he turned and–blushing furiously–gave Nessa a quick hug. "Okay!" He shouted, "lunch, then!" His pace quickened, and smiled fondly at him, while Itsuki just shook his head.

They made it just in time to miss the lunch rush at the BBQ shop, though since it was an Akimichi sponsored restaurant it was always busy. "Table for three?" The harried looking host asked.

"Yes please," Nessa said cheerfully, with a polite smile, and was given a strange look in return, but they were led to a table with fewer people nearby. Nessa looked to Itsuki when they had all sat down and ordered their drinks, "You are quieter than usual, Itsuki. Something on your mind?" She asked softly and glanced around to be sure there wasn't anyone listening in.

Itsuki grimaced, but replied, "Hidden villages don't usually send such a large response just for some missing chūnin." He said giving Nessa a meaningful look; when she only raised an eyebrow at him in return, he continued, "One of them must have been important, or been carrying a vital missive."

"I thought about that as well," Nessa said with a nod, "But ultimately the best way to get that information is T&I, and if it requires any input from us they'll send someone." Nessa didn't find information gathering all that exciting. Kaito and Itsuki were much more curious about potential geopolitical information than her, she just wanted to perform exceptionally and keep people safe.

Itsuki sighed, and Kaito said "Well if we almost d- died for it…" he started, "and Itsuki is right, but I wonder why the response team wasn't full of Jōnin, they seemed inexperienced, at least compared to our Jōnin."

Nessa laughed, "Well we have Kakashi and Itachi, so I am not sure that is the best comparison, they may have just been fresh Jōnin. The woman, at least, was definitely a Jōnin. Without Itsuki, I would have stayed on the defensive and eventually fallen to her impressive skill with Dotonjutsu." She said easily. "I think we did really well, all things considered, though we should add some medical jutsu to our repertoire." _It should probably be me since I have the best control_.

Nessa sighed at the prospect of moving outside her specialty of high mobility, but if it could keep her team alive, she would do it.

They ordered a large meal and kept the conversation light, joking about how slow the merchants were, how strange it was that a country could have so many shrines and temples, and how to work together better in the future. Eventually, though, they realized that the restaurant seemed quieter than usual, and the general mood seemed rather dour.

It was then that a ninja rushed in and looked frantically around before she saw them and practically _shunshin_ed over to them. "Were you not appraised of the situation at the gate or mission desk?!" She whispered harshly, "All chūnin and above are required to be on high alert, the mission desk should have given you a scroll!"

Nessa furrowed her eyebrows and shrugged, "No they did not tell us what was going on, but the village seems… depressed. What happened?" Now that she thought about it, she hoped it wasn't something big like another attack on the scale of the Kyuubi, and suddenly, she wanted to go home to check on her family.

The ninja grimaced, and said, "I'll let the mission desk tell you like they should have to begin with. Come along."

Nessa and her team followed the genin to the mission desk, and the two ninja that had taken their reports looked vaguely contrite, "Ah sorry Nessa-san, we hadn't even thought about how you'd been gone for so long. We assumed you would know about–um, one of our shinobi went rogue and–"the black-haired boy stuttered, so his partner took over.

"Uchiha Itachi went fucking crazy and killed the entirety of the Uchiha clan–except for his little brother. Itachi-me is missing as of now," the short genin's voice was rough and angry.

Nessa didn't know what to say, mouth simply hanging agape, but Kaito mumbled a soft "...What?"

"When did this happen?" Itsuki asked softly, his usually stoic demeanor sounding suspiciously close to tears. _Oh, he had friends in the Uchiha I think… Uchiha Tekka, maybe? _Nessa put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

The girl crossed her arms and looked away, so her partner spoke again, "Two weeks ago, on the 22nd of July." He seemed to marshal himself an continued in a stronger voice, "The village has been on high alert since then, and will remain that way for two more weeks. All returning shinobi are stationed in the village to perform missions here until we are assured of our safety." His last sentenced sounded very rehearsed, he had probably been instructed by the tokubetsu jōnin of missions.

_I don't even know what to think, this is such a terrible tragedy… _"Do we have assigned postings yet?" Nessa asked wearily.

"Ahh…" He rifled through the scrolls on his desk and then looked back up, "Not yet, but–"

"Nara Nessa, Hirayama Itsuki, and Shiraki Kaito." The three looked up in surprise to see the Sandaime Hokage at the entrance to the mission room. "Come with me to my office, I want to talk regarding your mission." He seemed less grandfatherly than when Nessa received her first mission from him several years prior. _Maybe the stress is getting to him, he was supposed to be retired._

"Yes Hokage-Sama" they replied in unison and followed him up the stairs.

Kaito gave Nessa a panicked look, but she just smiled in return and mouthed 'It will be okay.'

When they reached the Hokage's office, he sat heavily in his chair and faced them with his chin resting on laced fingers. "Your mission was a great success, particularly given the–additional qualities. I am upgrading the mission rank to A, and your reward will be reflected in that." He turned and looked out the large window, silent for an almost uncomfortable amount of time.

"The genocide of the Uchiha is a tragedy that has affected and will continue to affect the village in more ways than you can imagine," he said heavily. "Your responsibilities will be high for the next two weeks, and you won't get the usual break you would receive after such a long mission until after the period of high alert is over." He turned to look at them, "Dismissed."

Nessa and her team took three steps back, bowed, and left. Before they made it down the stairs, Kaito let out a loud sigh, "How does something like that happen? H- how could someone massacre an entire clan…"

_I'm not so sure myself,_ Nessa thought, "We should get to work, take our mind off of the tragedy. We should see about our postings."

They stepped back up to the mission desk and asked if there was any news on their postings or mission assignments. "We have your mission scroll here. This will be for Itsuki-san and Nessa-san. Kaito-san your scroll is here." Kaito frowned and looked to Nessa who could do nothing but shrug.

"Sorry Kaito, we will meet up with you as soon as we can," Nessa said softly, then tugged Itsuki after her to read their scroll.

"They split us up?" Itsuki asked.

"Likely we are being given easy missions to make up for the lack of a break," Nessa replied. She opened the scroll to read the mission parameters and then sighed, "We have been assigned–" Nessa sighed "We are tasked with investigating several locations that could contain underground bunkers. Great, information gathering"

"As a team of two?" He asked pointedly.

"I expect it will be a lot of camping, maybe some bandit fights, but it will be obvious that Konoha is on high alert, no shinobi would be foolish enough to stay in our territory until we lower our alert status," she replied easily. "Besides, you love camping!" Nessa added cheerfully.

Itsuki grumbled but left to pack. "Meet at the gate in half an hour!" Nessa called to him, then ran home to pack as well. By late afternoon they had left for their assignment, packed and ready for anything. Nessa was sure it was Itsuki's unique skill with what he called his 'tremor sense' that had them assigned to this particular mission, _I sure do not have any skill with tracking, so I hope he is ready to carry this mission._


End file.
